Burglar protection



Dec.- 29 i925- 1,567,723

H. FRANK BURGLAR FROTECTI QN Filed July i7 T1925 /'I 'EA/TOR. Harry Fra/7k Patented `Dec. 29, 19,25.`

j l UNirE-D STATES:

1,567,723 PATEN orties.V

,HARRY FRANK, OF BROOKLYN, YOB.

BURGLAR PROTECTION.

Application filed July 17, 1925.' Serial No. 44,175. i

To all whom, t may concern:

'Be it'known that I, HARRY FRANK, a citizen of Russia, resi-ding at Brooklyn, county of Kings, and State of New York,'have invented ay certain new and useful Burglar Protection, of which kthe following is a speciication.

This invention relates to the protection ovfV money, valuables, etc., against burglaryor hold up. `The object of the invention is to provide simple, inexpensive and highly eiiicient means for foiling attempts to burglarize or hold-up banks, jewelry establishments,

express ofiices,land other places where money orvaluables are kept. y Y Y Speaking generally, the invention consists in the utilization of a simple andnovel tower of-bullet proof construction `mounted in a position wherein it will` be inaccessible to bandits or robbers, but in such manner. that it will overlook from a commanding position the normal public portion of a bank, store, show room or the like.

, comprises a suitable enclosure of bullet pro'of material supported at a normally inaccessible height abo'vethe floor on a suit- `able framework orlegs. It is of sufficient size to comfortably house an armed 'guard and is provi-ded in its ,walls with openings or loop holes which command the view ,of

.practically thel entire floor and through which the guard can keep constant watch -for lawlessness and can direct an attack against lawV breakers.

An important feature of the invention resides in the fact that theguardenclosing portion of the vtowel' is situated .at an appreciable distance above theviioor and is normally inaccessible by persons onv the floor.

A ladder or other suitable. means may be provided to permit the guard to enter the enclosure, but this ladder is removable and is'r'emoved after the guard is positioned in the tower thereby eifectually precluding bandits from reaching'the guard and engaging in pers0nal-conflict with him.

The enclosure is provided with a suitableA door adapted tobe locked from the inside and the back of such enclosure whereat the door is positioned isiniperforate, so that the guard cannotbe surprised from the rear. The enclosure is roofed over and withinrthe enclosure are suitable alarm devices including telephone connection and audible alarm controlling means, so that the guard is not only able to lire-upon lawless persons, but

The tower he is also enabled to telephone for assistance .and to operatea local alarm forV the purpose of giving a signal in the immediate'vicinity of the establishment in which a hold up may be taking place.

A paramount feature of the invention re- Sides in the fact that the tower is so positioned' that it cannot be entered by anyone except the guard whose Aduties require his presence constantly at this point. In other words, it is not possible, in accordance with the present invention, for example, for a bank teller, in the event of a hold up to.

seek refuge in the towern There is absol lutelyno connection betweenethe tower and thevtellers cages and after the guard is in position in the tower, all means whereby access may be had .to the tower is removed. This' fact eliminates collusion on the pait of employees and robbers.

. It has heretofore been suggested to provide bullet proof enclosures into which a bank teller could iee in the event of hold up an-d from which he could fire upon assailants.

It is found in practice, however, that when the hold up occurs, the person held up is cages, but direct the invention in contradistinction to towers removed from the tellers cagesand in which a guard is seated for the undivided duty of being constantly on watch for attempt at burglary or other lawlessness.

In accordance with this invention, ythe 'guard occupying the' tower can watch the activities of customers or clients and upon discerning any irregularities is in a position tocommand the situation, to summon help and to fire upon law breakers if the circum.

stances warrant it.

Features of the invention, other than those adverte-d to, will be apparent from the hereinafter detailed description and claims, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

The accompanying drawings illustrate one .practical embo'dimentof the invention, but

Ythe construction therein' shown is to beun- `derstood as illustrative, only, and not as defining the lim its' ofthe invention.

l -Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a portion of 'a bankhouse in whichthe present I invention is installed; and,

Figure 2 is av section perspective through cages ,about the margins `of the space. 3 is -wall 3.

vThe tower Aof the presentl invention is' the wallv at the blind end of theenclosure,

the invention provides simpleyet thoroughly the entrance doo-r orl doors being at the side of the room opposite or contiguous t ov the shown `as embodying 'an enclosure 4 mounted on suitable supports raisedupon the floor o f the lspace 1 and extending upwardly for an appreciable height, preferably tov a point beyond the reach of'p'ersons on .the floor.

VThe supports`5inay be of any suitable numberor shape and serve to support the v.en--

closure 4 ata sufciently high elevation to make the occupant of the enclosure perfectly safe from hand to hand attackand to permit' him to command a full view of allpersons in the public space of the bank. This pri)-v vides as openh space beneath the tower so as not to' interfere with the movement of Athe patrons ofthe lbank .and others.- vThe enclosure 4 is preferably constructed of bulletproof steel, and is closed at three sides, at its ltopf, and; at its.' bottoiin. Its backisvpartially closed by a wall' 6 and a the Y In Figure 2, the door is shown in itsnor-y mally closed position infull lines vand' in 'its opened po'sition in dotted lines.l The front and side walls of the enclosure are' provided with apertures or` loopholes* 8.at a

convenient height to permit a guard posi--y tioned within the enclosure toobservefthe A y activities in the space 1 and to ire through 'these loop holes inthe event (if-necessity.' .The guard may enter the'enclosui'eby means .of a ladder l9, shown in Figure 1 in dotted lines,` b-ut, in practice, thislladder is preferably a 'collapsible ladde'nso that after. the

A' guard is in the enclosure, 'the'ladder can be feo'.

drawn'np andehoused in the enclosure with him, so as' tov preclude anyone else from lgaining access to the enclosure.

` As sliownin Figure 2, theenclosure pref erably u'has housed therein a telephone con'.-

in. a local circuit with' an audible alan-m14,

while the push butto-i112 isincluded in a a circuit which controls the locking of the doors of a building; Circuits of this latter character are well known in the art and it has.. not beenconsidered necessary. to illus- "trate all the conventional mechanism nor'v mally included therein. 4By means of these variouselectricall devices, however, the guard is not only able to communicate with police headquarters or votherwise to secure outside assistance, but he can also cause a ringing of the local alarm '14 'and furthermore effect the Vclosing .of the doors ofthe bank by .meaiis of the'switch-l2 if he so desires. It'will beapparen-t from whathas been said' with reference to thisA invention that eiiicient means to'satisfactorilycope with attempt at burglary or hold up. The invention-.has been particularly described in con"- junction with banks, but I am also aware that it can-be used to advantage in a wide variety of other. business places; e. g., in

' jewelry stores, express oces, for fur display salons1 and in. all other places where valubles are kept, f f

I wishto makel it particularly clear the I importance of having the tower inaccessible toq occupantsf of the bank other .than the guard who is housed in the tower and thoroughly guardedag'aihst personal attack; The foregoing ldetailed descriptionsets forth the invention in its preferred practif cal form and the invention isto be under- .stood as fully Letters Patent is: sliding door 7. 'This door is preferably prol 'vided with means for .locking it. fro

inner side so that'it cannot be opened ,from

'.a'tower positionedin removed relation with respect`to the cage-or counter and inaccessidescribed the invention,

bletherefroin, said tower embodying a bullet proof guardenclosure mounted on suitable leg supports 4at a sufficiently high elevation toV providean open space .beneaththe tower and to command thorough viewv'of 'the counter andl patrons land to. .beiiiacessible without theemployment -of extraneous of cooperation with the tower, whereby the gua-rd issafe from attack and can exercise full surveillance over the Aactivities v` of patrons and intruders, and alarm means con` .trollab'le' from within the enclosure.

HARRY FRANK;

In. testimony whereof I- have signed the `foregoing specification. nection 10, as well as push buttons 11 and" 12. vThe push button 11 is shown as included i'neans, said -ei'iclosure having loopvv holes 

